Primary Cultivation

Have a Good Cultivation Plan

Successful sugarbeet production begins with a good cultivation plan. Select soils having good tile and surface drainage. Soils moldboard plowed to a depth of 10 to 12 inches generally provide the best beet emergence and rood development. Weed pressure will be less on moldboard plowed fields than on chiseled or field cultivated fields. Fall plowing is recommended on all soil types except very sandy soils susceptible to wind erosion. On fall plowed soils good results have been observed when soils were worked down in fall or winter tilled and then planted with no tillage before planting.

PlowingWhen secondary tillage occurs immediately before planting, work soil as shallow as possible, this allows moisture to "wick-up" with capillary action. Deep secondary tillage will quickly reduce soil moisture levels and beet emergence. Deep and/or excess secondary tillage reduces the oxygen supply in the soil and promotes crust formation.

Goals for Plowing

  • Improve soil structure
  • Cover remains of the preceding crop
  • Achieve a level seedbed
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